Week 60- 11/21/16 I Don't Think The Rainy Season Ever Really Ends

Well howdy hey how's your day?

I can't believe another week has come and gone. These weeks are going

so fast. Before we know it it's Friday and we start freaking out. Better fast than slow and boring I guess. Life has shown down a bit here. We're still rocking the investigator pool but we just need to set more times to meet them. This week we're going to hit it strong, especially since we'll be out of the area for zone conference on Friday.

It's getting colder up in Nagaoka. The rain certainly doesn't help. Sometimes I just wish it would turn into snow and we can get this party started. It's easier to stay dry in the snow. We found out this week that it snows enough to collapse houses if you're not careful enough. ヤバイ！

So I'll let you in on what happened. We met some new investigators

this week and they look good. After I finished emailing y'all last

week we went to look for some cool things to do. We ended up bumping

into a guy we know and he turned into a new investigator. Then we went

to Stamina taro with another investigator. Stamina taro is an all you

can eat meat grill. We had two hours to eat as much as we could.

Really our week was pretty normal. We had splits up here in Nagaoka

this week. The Joetsu elders came up and we had a good time. I was

with another bean named Elder Anderson. He's way short and looks like

he's in elementary school.

We had guitar class on Friday. Our ward mission leader loves guitars

so he brings a ton to the church and teaches us how to play guitar. We

bring our investigators and it's just a good time all around. I

already know some basic stuff so he relies on me to help teach.

Because I also know a little bit about guitars, I get to pick the cool

ones.

That's pretty much it for our week. It's getting colder, that's all I

can really say. Hope everybody has a good thanksgiving. We're throwing

a party here on Wednesday. Remember to actually be thankful for stuff.

Living in a land that doesn't have any turkey makes you really miss

Thanksgiving. Maybe we'll pick up some KFC that night. See you all

next week and of course PICTURES. Oh and feel free to send me pictures

as well. I love that stuff.

Stamina taro with Miyajima

after all the negative comments lately, we should all just

appreciate the great things America has done.

guitar class

how the Japanese prepare for snow.

Week 59- 11/14/16 I'm Scared of Winter

WOAH HEY EVERYBODY IS IT MONDAY AGAIN?! Well by golly it is. Nagaoka has been a bit of a crazy time right now. We worked way hard this week and everybody is freaking about the presidential election. I honestly think it's hilarious. 

Here's the run down. I already told you about last Monday. Tuesday we biked freaking far in a winter rain storm to check out this college we want to tutor English at. We get there, pushing up a mountain and the wind for like an hour, and our hands are nearly frozen off. We talk to a few people and one guy leads us to the office. Bad idea. The office people were easily the rudest people I ever met here. They wouldn't let us talk. One person lied to the director that we wanted to start a Christian class when all we wanted to do is attend the English club they said they don't have. But I know they DO. So we biked home. 

Wednesday. We cut up stamps so they can turn them into money to give to people with no money. Made lots of old lady friends. They were way surprised to see us. Also, it started snowing on Tuesday but none of it stuck. The weather continued into Wednesday, which was more snow, then rain, then hail. November in Nagaoka is just crazy. Everybody here is gearing up for the snow. Construction crews are everywhere prepping roads and tying trees up. Elder McIlrath and I feel like winter is going to be big. I also found out trump is president on this day. Everybody keeps asking us how we feel but honestly can't say. I don't know anything, and political Japanese is hard.

Thursday we had service, then the traveling assistants came up so we worked with them. Friday was spent working with them as well. We found three new investigators this week. Had a good time. We ended our splits with ping pong. 

Sunday was full of meetings. That's pretty much my week. Hopefully everyone is good. Have fun in America or wherever you are. Just know that people here care way more about the election than most Americans do. They track it and advertise for it like it's a huge UFC event, then have sports commentaries on all the debates. Most people just want to talk to us to here our political preference. Have a good week!

Pocky Day

Pocky Day

Week 58- 11/7/16 Super Trainer

Well hello family and friends. This week kind of a weird week for me. I got to be trainer to two missionaries instead of one, and I much rather prefer one. The other trainee's trainer had to go up to Tokyo to handle some stuff about a bike so I babysat for most of this week.

Monday was a day. We spent our time biking around and ended making friends with a guy who owns a recycle shop. He goes to America once very now and then and picks up a ton of used clothing from Deseret Industries and Salvation Army, then comes back here to sell it. He runs an antique clothing store. Pretty cool dude.

Tuesday is when the other Elder came up. We had an extra bike for him but he's not very tall so we ended up just walking everywhere. It rained every other day this week. People keep saying that rainy season is over but every time a new month hits they say "oh it's another rainy season now." Sounds to me like Japan has a year long rainy season. 

Wednesday and Thursday were spent walking around in the rain. We went up to Niigata Thursday evening for a zone conference  and splits on friday. There was a lightning storm going on so they stopped the train for a good while. 

Friday was spent walking around even more because I was on splits with Elder Kakegawa the zone leader. I've known him for my entire mission so we had a fun time. We ended our splits with a ping-pong party. The rest of the week was just doing the things we needed to do like weekly planning and such.I also learned that my investigator in Abiko named Hiroki was baptized on Saturday, so that's another one under my belt! We did drop by a few investigators houses to set up appointments and we will be meeting them this week hopefully. Then today we had a picnic in a park about an hour away by car with some members and an investigator. It was pretty fun and I got pictures. Hope you all have a good week!

Week 57- 10/31/2016 There And Back Again

Hello again everybody. This has been one crazy week. Life as a trainer

has left me tired, and being the oldest missionary in the area has

really been an interesting experience. I'll fill you in on what

happened for the first 4 days of the week.

I went to Tokyo again hence the email title. I've ridden the Niigata

bus more times then any missionary ever I think. I haven't been in the

area on a Tuesday yet either. Tomorrow is a first for me. To make

things easier for you, we went to Tokyo and slept in the Honbu gym

with all the new missionaries. I don't remember being that wide-eyed

when I got here, but I sure was as tired as they were. But my sleeping

was interrupted because out of the 20 something elders in this room, 4

of them snored enough to simulate an army of lumberjacks. Wednesday I

woke up, got my trainee, ate some enchiladas, then went home (kind

of). We had to stay the night in Niigata area.

Thursday we got home. Really this week has just been full of doing

things for my trainee. His name is Elder McIlrath. Japanese people

can't say his name. He's a pretty cool guy and I'm looking forward to

working with him. He's from Kayesville, Utah and served in the National

Gaurd before he left.

I realized yesterday that if people want the missionaries to do

something, they come to me now. That's a little frightening because I

can't make decisions for anybody besides my companionship. But I

realized this week how much Japanese I actually do know. I know a lot.

I can have any conversation I want. Just a little exciting feeling.

I've finally reached a level of fluency, I just need to work on my

reading.

I honestly don't have much to talk about but here's some pictures!

Guitar Class

The branch Halloween party

The branch Halloween party

The branch Halloween party